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Anderson Road extension work could cost $5M less than expected

ELBURN – Work could begin late next month on a road construction project intended to provide Elburn with a faster way to cross the railroad.

And the work could cost millions less than originally estimated.

Last week, officials with the Illinois Department of Transportation opened bids from contractors seeking to secure the work to extend Anderson Road south from Route 38 to Keslinger Road.

The bid results were "very favorable" for taxpayers and local government agencies overseeing the work, said Steve Coffinbargar, assistant director of transportation at the Kane County Division of Transportation.

Coffinbargar said the tentative low bid checked in at $14.4 million.

That figure still is subject to a bid review by IDOT, to ensure that the bid was correctly calculated and corresponds to the actual work to be done. But if it holds up, Coffinbargar said the project could be completed for more than $5 million less than the $19.8 million project cost estimated by the county's engineers.

Officials with Kane County and the village of Elburn have sought the project for years. Kane County, for example, ranked it one of the county's top transportation priorities.

Under the proposal, Anderson Road, located east of Route 47, would be extended from its terminus just south of Route 38 to Keslinger Road near the Elburn Metra station. The project would include an overpass of the Union Pacific Railroad tracks.

Trains moving through Elburn's downtown across Route 47 regularly back up traffic at the crossing, prompting the push for the new bridge over the tracks.

The county and village secured about $18 million from the federal and state governments to help finance the project. The money was used to purchase land for the road and finance design and construction of the bridge and new roadway.

Should the project proceed further without a hitch, earthwork for the new bridge and road could begin as soon as late September. From there, the work will continue through 2014, with completion sometime in 2015, Coffinbargar said.

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